Water-in-oil explosive emulsion containing organic nitro compound and solid explosive adjuvant



United States Patent WATER-lN-OIL EXPLdsIvE EMULSION CONTAIN- INGORGANIC NITRO COMPOUND AND SOLID EXPLOSIVE ADJUVANT 3,355,547 PatentedDec. 5, 1967 ice possible in this manner to increase the heaving efiectof the explosive at the expense of its brisance.

In the manufacture of explosive mixtures containing detonatableemulsions an important economic advantage Ado Betthmalm and ClemensFrame Leverkusen and 5 lies in the fact that the percentage ofnitroglycerin (nitro Paul Lingens, Cologne-Marienburg, Germany,assignors Compounds) Often can he reduced; to Dynamit Nobel A.G.,Troisdorf, Bez. Cologne, The manufacture of the explosive mixtures ofthe in- Germany, a corporation of Germany vention is generally performedin such a manner that the N0 Drawing- Continuation of pp t n detonatableemulsion is worked together with the solid, g N 1963- This aPPhcafioil P1966, which is ground to the fineness customary for explosives, 1 in ana ropriate mixing a aratus, until it is homo Claims priority,applicatiglgl g a y, 24, 1962 enized, thoroughly inter sgersed withrespect to tlfe 4 Claims. emulsion. Another possibility is to mix thesolid first with the aqueous phase and then to add the organic phaseThis application is a continuation of application Ser. (nitroglycerin ornitro compounds) along with emulsi 301,178, filed Aug 9, 1963, nowabandoned fying aids. Also, the aqueous solution can be emulsified Thesubject of copending application Ser. No. 179,491, with a mixture of thesolid and the organic phase. The filed Mar. 13, 1962, now Patent3,231,437, is detonatable Proportion of emulsion an be about 10-75% ofthe comaqueous emulsions which are formed of water and liquid P0Sitiondepending on the Properties desiredor fusible explosive and thesecompositions are water-in- The advantages of the eXplOsiVes madeaccording to oil emulsions. The emnlsification is achieved by the usethe invention are HOW to be d i ed in a number of of appropriatestabilizers and emulsifiers which have a examples; solution afiinityboth for the detonatable component and EXAMPLE 1 for the aqueous phase.In an addition to said copending p d explosive) application, a furthercopending application, Ser. No.

196,445, filed May 21, 1962, now Patent 3,212,945, disemulsm wnslstmgcloses improvement in that carbon carriers and/or oxy- 9.8 partsnitroglycol gen carriers and Water-soluble organic explosives can be 0.1part collodion co ton dissolved in the aqueous phase. 0.1 part of asorbitol-base emulsifier known by the com- It has now been found thatthese emulsions can also ial name of Span 65, which is partiallyesterified be used together with solid substances to constitute new withfatty a id explosive mixtures. The solids to be added may consist o 3parts of a saturated, aqueous solution of NH NO and oxygen carriers,combustible substances, detonatable sub- Ca(NO stances, inert substancesor a combination of these sub- 79% NH4 3 stances, depending on the typeof application. Wood flour The important advantages of the explosivemixtures 4% brown coal dust of the invention can be summarized asfollows: Test data:

By the combination of detonatable emulsions with Denslty solids,explosives can be produced in many difierent con- Lead block test 360sistencies according to the ratio of solids to emulsion; for Hess testexample, they may be powdered, gelatinous or even cast- Propagatlon ofdetonanon on Sand 20 able at ordinary temperatures. Energy level 1003The density of the customary powdered explosives can 1 Metemons perliter be advantageously controlled by the Water content of the AStandard explosive Which contains an additional 3% emulsion, withoutgreatly affecting their other technical NH4NO3 has the following testdata: characteristics. I Density g./cc 0.93

The effect described in the above-mentioned principal Lead block test cc350 application of the reduction of the sensitivity to impact Hess upsettest mm 18.6 of the detonatable emulsions is also observed in the ex-Propagation f d ation on sand cm 30 plosive mixtures of the presentinvention. For example, it Ehfifgy level m.-t./l 90.4 is Ph in case ofmany f hl g As the data on the standard explosive show, it is possiblePIOSIVeS t Q0I1S1deIah1yfedue thell' sellslflvlty to Impact by the useof an emulsion to increase the density and by emulsifying them withaqueous solutions, thus conhence the energy level of a powder explosive.tributing considerably towards safety in handling them. EXAMPLE 2 Thebrisance of explosive mixtures based on the present invention can becontrolled within very wide limits (Gelatinous explosives with v yingwater content) and can be adapted to the desired application. It is alsoPercentage compositions and'test data:

Emulsion lt i ix t r g Wood I lii s t Energy Percent Nitro- H2O, CalciumPercent 6r Flour, Test, Level, glgsggi lpfi 224 Percent gtgtgte,Naggglus Percent mm. m.-t./l.

30 3. 3:? at 2 as 3 g .2 3.2 g 17.5 91. 5 30 8 01 5 as: 5 3 g 3 Despitethe substitution of the energy-supplying salt pai-r (NaNO -l-NH CI) byan inert substance (H O), a marked increase in the energy level isachieved. The brisance (taking the Hess test as the measure of thisfactor) can be adjusted within wide limits by varying the water content.

EXAMPLE 3 (Gelatinous mining explosive) Composition.35% emulsionconsisting of:

20 parts 60/40 nitroglycerin 0.8 part collodion cotton 0.2 part zincoxystearate 14 parts of an aqueous solution of 34.7% cane sugar, 27.8%Ca(NO 23.6% NH NO and 13.9% H

40% NaNO 25% NH Cl Test data:

Density g./cc 1.65 Lead block expansion cc 212 Hess upset test mm 12.7Propagation of detonation on sand cm 3 Propagation of detonation(cardboard tube) This explosive complies with the Class 1 specificationsas gas proof, and yet, at 212 cc., its lead block expansion or power is15% greater than that of the ordinary Class 1 mining explosive of thefollowing composition:

Nitroglycerin Percent 30 Ammonium nitrate dO 26.5 50% calcium nitratesolution do 3 Wood flour do 0.5 NaCl do 40.0 Lead block expansion cc 185in spite of the fact that the latter has a substantially higher contentof a brisant explosive.

Test data:

Density 1.55 g./cc. Lead block expansion 370 cc. Hess upset test -3 14mm. Propagation of detonation 4 cm. Koenen-Ide impact test 1 kg., 50 cm.

This explosive is of about the same power as the one known by thecommercial name of Ammon-Gelit 3 (lead block expansion 375 cc.), but itis substantially safer to handle (Ammon-Gelit 3 impact test: 1 kg., 20cm.), and more economical, since it uses 2% less nitroglycerin thanAmmon-Gelit 3 and contains no aromatic nitrocompounds (Ammon-Gelit 3:11% aromatic nitrocompounds).

EXAMPLE 5 (High-brisance gelatinous explosive) Co;mposition.35% emulsionconsisting of:

19 parts 60/ 40 nitroglycerin 0.8 part collodion cotton 0.2 part calciumoxystearate 14.7 parts saturated aqueous solution of NH NO Ca(NO and NHCIO 0.3 part guar flour 40% Hexogen [RDX, trimethylenetrinitroamine]Test data:

Density 1.58 g./cc.

Lead block expansion 450 cc.

Hess upset test Greater than 30 mm.

Detonation rate 7200 m./ sec.

Kast impact test 1 kg., 20 cm.

Composition of a comparable explosive without emulsion:

60/40 nitroglycerin Percent 33.5 Collodion cotton do 1.5 HN CIO do 25Hexogen [RDX, trimethylenetrinitroamine] do 40 Test data:

Density 1.58 g./cc.

Lead block expansion 500 cc.

Hess upset test Greater than 30 mm.

Detonation rate 7700 m./sec.

Kast impact test 1 kg., 8 cm.

The emulsion explosive of this example still has a high brisance, asshown by the Hess upset test and the detonation rate, although itcontains only 20% nitroglycerin as compared with 35% for the comparableexplosive. As the two impact tests show, the handling safety has beenappreciably increased.

EXAMPLE 6 (Castable explosive) Composition.60% emulsion consisting of:

35.4 parts 60/40 nitroglycerin 0.3 part collodion cotton 23.8 partssaturated ammonium nitrate solution 0.3 part of an emulsifier which isobtainable on the market under the name Cremophor FM, and is a fattyacid condensation product 4.4% brown coal dust Test data:

Density g./cc 1.20 Lead block expansion cc 350 Due to the castability ofthis explosive, high charge densities can be achieved by direct pouringeven into irregularly shaped cavities.

60/40 nitroglycerin used in the examples is 60 parts nitroglycerin and40- parts nitroglycol.

While the invention has been described with respect to particularembodiments thereof, these embodiments are merely representative of theinvention and do not serve to define the limits thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. An explosive composition comprising a detonatable water-in-oilexplosive emulsion containing an emulsifying agent and wherein the oilis nitroglycerine or nitroglycol, and solid exposive adjuvant of thegroup ammonium nitrate, the salt pair sodium nitrate and ammoniumchloride, RDX, the proportion of emulsion being about 10-75% by weightof the composition.

2. An explosive composition according to claim 1, wherein said solidexplosive adjuvant is solid ammonium nitrate, and imparts an increasedenergy level to the explosive.

3. An explosive composition according to claim 1, wherein said solidexplosive adjuvant is solid ammonium nitrate and solid sodium nitrate,and imparts an increased energy level to the explosive.

5 6 4. An explosive composition according to claim 1, 3,212,945 10/1965Berthmann et al l4947 wherein said solid explosive adjuvant is solidRDX, and 3,231,437 1/1966 Berthmann et a1 1 9 01 imparts high brisanceto the the explosive.

CARL D. QUARFORTH, Primary Examiner. References Cited 5 BENJAMIN R.PADGETT, Examiner. UNITED STATES PATENTS S. J. LECHERT, IR., AssistantExaminer.,

3,161,551 12/1964 Egly et a1. 149-46

1. AN EXPLOSIVE COMPOSITION COMPRISING A DETONATABLE WATER-IN-OILEXPLOSIVE EMULSION CONTAINING AN EMULSIFYING AGENT AND WHEREIN THE OILIS NITROGLYCERINE OR NITROGLYCOL, AND SOLID EXPOSIVE ADJUVANT OF THEGROUP AMMONIUM NITRATE, THE SALT PAIR SODIUM NITRATE AND AMMONIUMCHLORIDE, RDX, THE PROPORTION OF EMULSION BEING ABOUT 10-75% BY WEIGHTOF THE COMPOSITION.